Breaking Tradition
by ShearViscosity
Summary: Wild hair, a complete family, no song, no fancy dress, no prince. The traditional Disney princesses are unsure of what to think of the newest princess before them. Then again, perhaps breaking tradition isn't such a bad thing after all. Contains spoilers for Brave.


I do not own the rights to Brave or any Disney movie. Contains spoilers for Brave.

**Breaking Tradition**

None of the other princesses knew what to think of the girl before them.

She had arrived not by carriage, but instead by riding on a horse, _bareback_. Her hair was a wild mane of ginger curls, dwarfing her small face. The forest green dress she was wearing, certainly seemed befitting of royalty, but a closer inspection revealed dirt and smudges. Oblivious to the mess that was her hair and the dirt on her dress, she had a broad smile on her face. Despite the confident smile, she was actually quite nervous, rocking back and forth on her heels. The strangest parts of her appearance though, were the quiver of arrows on her back, and the bow in her hand.

The princesses themselves were seated at a long banquet table placed in the middle of Cinderella's ballroom. Tarts, eclairs, beignets, finger sandwiches, fruit, and other treats filled numerous trays on the table. In front of each princess was an elaborately decorated china cup, filled with tea. Snow White was seated on the far left, followed by Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Tiana, and the latest princess, Rapunzel. All were wearing their best dresses, eager to make a good impression on the potential new princess, who seemed under-dressed for the occasion.

"You wished to see meh?" she asked, _before_ being properly addressed, and in an accent no less. It seemed like Tiana, who was the only who had a noticeable accent (courtesy of New Orleans), was no longer alone. If anything, she was outdone.

Snow White, being the oldest princess, naturally answered her and overlooked the faux pas. "Princess Merida, you are hereby invited to join the official Disney Princess Club."

"After answering a couple questions of course," added Cinderella, while the others held back sighs of exasperation. It was well known of the rivalry between the two princesses, Snow White being the eldest and first member of the official Disney Princess Club vs. Cinderella, the most well-known of the first generation princesses.

Without her smile wavering even a bit, Snow White took control back from Cinderella. "Yes, questions. First, tell us about your family."

"That's not much of a question..." the girl muttered under her breath, not realizing that those closest to her managed to hear it. Then she said in a louder voice, "Well, there's my father, the king; my mother, the queen-"

"Do you mean step-mother?" interrupted Cinderella.

Merida shook her head of curls. "Nay, she's my mother and gave birth to meh."

"Oh," said Rapunzel, "I get it. They are your real parents, but you were taken away from them when you were younger." Another blonde, Aurora, nodded her head.

There was another shake of the mass of hair. "Nay, they're my parents and I've been with them my whole life. Then there's my brothers, well, wee devils more like," and a sly grin appeared on her face, replacing the wide smile that was there earlier.

While the grin was appearing on her face, gasps and whispers filled the grand ballroom. Having both parents, alive, and_ knowing_ them? Sisters and step-sisters while rare weren't unheard of, but _brothers_?

Waiting until the whispers were all but gone, Snow White continued with the interview. "What about your song?"

A blank look appeared on Merida's face. "Song?"

"The song you are known for singing, or about you. Mine is, 'Someday My Prince Will Come'," replied Snow White, singing the title of her song.

On cue, and in order, the rest of the princesses sang their song titles, holding out every note as long as possible. Singing their songs to the newest princess was a tradition that started with the introduction of Ariel, the beginning of the second generation of princesses. After years by themselves, the first three princesses, Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora had shared their stories and experiences, including their songs. Curious to see if the second generation was similar to that of the first, they asked Ariel about her song. She didn't disappoint, and neither had any of the princesses that followed her.

"'A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes'."

"'Once Upon a Dream'."

"'Part of Your World'."

'''Beauty and the Beast'."

"'A Whole New World'."

"'Almost There'."

"'When Will My Life Begin?'."

It was Rapunzel's first time singing her song to a new princess, and the other princesses gave her a nice round of applause once she was done. Not knowing what to make of it all, Merida could only watch in silence at the performance before her.

"Um," said Merida once all the princesses were done, "I suppose there is one song..."

"Go on dear," urged Snow White with a wave of her hand.

Merida took a deep breath, and then sang:

"Mor'du, Mor'du  
Mor'du, Mor'du!  
You're ancient as the highlands and as unforgivin' too.  
Mor'du, Mor'du  
Mor'du, Mor'du!  
Now the time has come for all of us tae slaughter you!

He's bigger than a Cuillin, killin' armies with his paws.  
Mor'du is never happy till the blood runs from his jaws.  
He murders in the mountains and he fights with ev'ry clan.  
His teeth and jowls have ripped the hearts-"

"That's enough," said Cinderella holding up a hand. "I think we get the point."

The sound of clapping filled the air; however it was more of a quiet, awkward, polite clapping than a true round of applause in appreciation like before.

"That was..." began Snow White, unsure of what to make of the exuberant performance. The voice Merida used echoed loudly in the ballroom, and she had been flailing her arms about her while she sang. "Interesting. Do you know any other songs?"

The rest of the princesses sent her glares behind her back, to which she paid no attention to. The girl had just sang a song about slaughtering, what other ones could she possibly know?

Before they could speak up that it was unnecessary for her to break into another song, Merida spoke. "It's not much of a song, but my mother used to sing it to meh when I was a wee lass.

"A naoidhean bhig, cluinn mo ghuth  
Mise ri d' thaobh, O mhaighdean bhan  
Ar righinn oig, fas as faic  
Do thir, dileas fhein  
A ghrian a's a ghealaich, stuir sinn  
Gu uair ar cliu 's ar gloire  
Naoidhean bhig, ar righinn og  
Mhaighdean uashaill bhan."

The voice she used this time was much softer, and calmer, as if she was singing a lullaby. Instead of dancing about like a savage, she stood still, and solemn.

"That was beautiful," said Aurora as she dabbed a tear away from the corner of her right eye. The rest of the princesses silently agreed that it was much better than the song Merida had sung before. The lyrics could have been about slaughtering for all they knew, but at least it sounded prettier.

"What did it mean?" asked Belle. She had always loved learning new things, including languages. Over the years she had learned Arabic, German, Mandarin, Greek, Latin, Atlantean, in addition to her native English and French. However, the words Merida had sung didn't seem to be from any of those, but something else entirely.

"My Gaelic is a wee bit rusty, but if I remember right, it translates as:

Little baby, hear my voice  
I'm beside you, O maiden fair  
Our young Lady, grow and see  
Your land, your own faithful land  
Sun and moon, guide us  
To the hour of our glory and honour  
Little baby, our young Lady  
Noble maiden fair."

Belle nodded in appreciation of the explanation and did her best to memorize the translation. It seemed like every time she learned something new and exciting, she didn't have a book with her to record it in.

"Moving on," said Snow White, after taking a second to wipe her eyes. "Do you have any animal friends?"

"Aye, there's my horse, Angus."

"Just a horse?" asked Cinderella. "No furry woodland creatures? No mice?"

"Or tiger?" asked Jasmine.

"I have a horse too, Maximus," said Rapunzel, "but I also have Pascal, he's a chameleon." Hearing his name, Pascal crawled out of his hiding spot in her skirt, to see what was going on. To get a better look at the newcomer, he crawled up her arm and stopped once he reached her shoulder. He judged the new princess just as the others had. After he gave a little nod of approval, he settled back into Rapunzel's dress for a nap.

"Nay, just meh and Angus. Well unless you count my brothers... and mother."

Not sure what to make of the brothers and mother comment, Cinderella pressed forward. She had never had any brothers, but surely they couldn't be_ that_ bad."What about your formal dress? What does it look like?" Noticing the confused look on Merida's face, she elaborated, "Big, sparkly, sometimes comes from a magical source. We're all wearing ours now."

Then to further prove her point, she stood up and twirled around, before finally sitting back down.

"I had a formal dress, until I ripped the seams out at the archery tournament."

"Ripped the seams out?" Repeated Ariel.

"Aye, I was fighting for my own hand in marriage," Jasmine's eyes rose at that and she learned forward in her chair, eager to hear the rest, "And the dress was too tight for meh to draw my bow. The only way I could shoot an arrow was to rip the seams out."

"What was the result of the tournament?" asked Jasmine.

"I won my hand in marriage, but made my mother angry for breaking tradition." The mass of ginger hair then looked at the floor intently. "That's how I ended up here. I went to a witch-"

"Was it an evil witch?" interrupted Ariel. "Did you have to give her your voice?"

"Not all witches are evil, Ariel," said Tiana from her seat.

"Maybe not Mama Odie, but the rest of us here have had plenty of experience with evil witches and enchanters," responded Jasmine.

Merida shook her head. "Not evil, she actually tried to warn meh away from the spell. A bit mad though, had an obsession with carving bears... I didn't have tae give her my voice, just a necklace so I could buy somethin' in the store and get the spell tae change my fate..." Merida sighed, and her gaze returned to the floor. "Instead it changed my mother into a bear, and brothers too."

Which explained the comment about them being animals earlier, realized Cinderella. That was certainly unexpected. Belle's prince had been turned into a beast by an enchantress, but this was the first time she had heard of a princess actually turning her family into animals.

"How awful," commented Aurora. "Did your prince break the spell with true love's kiss?"

"Prince? You mean the suitors at the tournament? Nay, I broke the spell on my own, by mendin' the rift between meh and my mother."

"Oh," replied Cinderella disappointingly. "Well maybe afterwards you chose one of the suitors?"

"Or discovered he was right next to you all along, when you were trying to break the spell?" proposed Rapunzel.

Once again, a mass of bright ginger curls shook in front of them. "Nay, my mother said I didn't have to marry if I didn't want to, that love could take it's course."

"That's so wonderful," responded Jasmine with a heavy sigh. She did love Aladdin, but in the end she had still been forced to marry before her birthday. Merida had somehow avoided the same fate.

"Wait, does that mean you don't have a prince?" asked Cinderella with a shocked expression on her face.

"Aye, I don't need a prince to be happy. I'm open to love, but it hasn't happened yet."

A princess without a prince? Even the unpopular princesses such as Eilonwy and Kida had their princes, the ordinary guys who helped them out on their journey, but become true loves in the end. A complete family, no song, no dress, just a horse, were all marketable, but what little girl could look up to a princess without a prince? That was the whole point of the official Disney Princess Club, showing that ordinary girls (and unhappy princesses) could overcome all obstacles to get their happily ever after and their very own Disney prince.

Uncomfortable silence descended on the room until the cause of it spoke up. "I suppose it's time for meh to go now. I promised to teach my mother how to string a bow." She gave a wobbly curtesy, before exiting from the room.

By this point, all the princesses were used to her unusualness, so they didn't think twice about her leaving before she was told to. The moment she left, noise filled the ballroom.

"No prince-"

"Did you see the bow and arrows? Sure, Rapunzel carries that skillet-"

"What about how she was dressed?"

"-that accent, I wonder-"

"-imagine being brave enough to change your fate-"

"-that hair-"

"Girls," said Snow White trying to get control of the situation, "Girls?" Sighing, she brought up her left hand to her mouth and let out a loud, high-pitched whistle. All heads turned to her with their lips shut. "Girls. So, about Princess Merida-"

"Yes," interrupted Cinderella, "About Princess Merida... I think I can safely say that I am not the only in this room questioning whether or not she is official Disney Princess material."

"Just because she doesn't have a prince? Not all little girls dream of a prince charmin', Cindy, and not all girls need a man to help them with their dreams," said Tiana.

"Tiana's right, you're just jealous that she had the courage to do something about her life on her own, without a prince helping her," replied Jasmine.

Several others in the room nodded their heads in agreement. Cinderella started to open her mouth, but Snow White voiced her opinion first.

"They're right, Merida is braver than all of us; she was willing to face all of us here, knowing she's not a traditional Disney princess... she didn't care what we thought of her."

Belle, who had mostly quiet during the interview, other than asking for a translation of Merida's second song, spoke up. "I liked her. What's wrong with being a little different or odd? Life would be boring if everybody was the same. I wonder if she'd be willing to teach me archery..."

"Oh, that sounds like fun!" said Rapunzel excitedly, waking Pascal up from his nap.

"Perhaps it's not to late to catch her at the stables. I wonder if she has some clothes we could change into," said Jasmine, who was making her way toward the doors. Belle and Rapunzel got up to follow her. Ariel, Tiana, and Aurora traded glances and shrugs, before deciding to join as well.

Cinderella, wasn't having any of it. "Come back here, princesses aren't supposed to do archery!" she cried. However, the room was now empty, except for two sole princesses.

"No we're just suppose to sit around singing, waiting for our princes to save us," said Snow White as she put a hand on Cinderella's shoulder. "At least, that's how it was in our day. You can't tell me you haven't noticed the princesses changing with each generation, becoming stronger and more proactive rather than reactive."

Cinderella let out a small sigh. "I know, makes you wonder what the next batch will be like... but... it's_ tradition._"

Snow White shrugged. "What's wrong with breaking tradition? Merida broke tradition and she seems happier for it."

"I suppose..."

Wrapping an arm around her friend who could sometimes be a major pain, Snow White said, "Come on, it might not be too late to join the others."

A thoughtful smile then appeared on Cinderella's face. "I wonder what Charming will say if I asked to go on his hunting trips next time..."

Giggling, Snow White replied, "Guess we'll just have to find out."

****Author's Note****

The idea for this fic came from a conversation I had with a friend after we saw Brave. It was about how Merida broke the traditional Disney princess mold, and how awesome it was. The conversation then turned to how the others would react to Merida having a complete family, not singing, and not having a prince, etc... I love Disney and the other princesses, but it's nice seeing a heroine who manages to solve her problems on her own, and doesn't end up with a prince.

The lyrics for the songs and translations came from Youtube videos of the Brave soundtrack. If they're wrong I apologize. I also tried my best to reflect Merida's Scottish accent, but I don't think I did the justice it deserves.

As for the other Disney princesses, there are officially eight, with Merida suppose to becoming the ninth. I'm not sure why Eilonwy and Kida have been excluded from the line, other than their movies not be as popular as Disney hoped. According to Wiki, Mulan and Pocahontas are included in the Disney princess line. However, every store such as Target, Walmart, etc... I've been to, only features the eight I mention in this story. Seriously, I cannot recall a time I've gone to a store and the Disney Princess aisle and found Pocahontas and Mulan dolls, or dress up clothes. If I did, I would have one.

Trying to balance eight distinct personalities and reactions to Merida was hard, and I'm still not 100% satisfied with it.

The idea for the Cinderella and Snow White rivalry was unplanned originally. I always found it interesting that although Snow White was the first princess, Cinderella and Aurora are the ones with castles at the parks, and Cinderella seems to be the most featured first generation princess when grouped together with the later ones such as Belle and Ariel.

Also, as far I'm away there's not a story like this currently up, and if there is, I'm unaware of it.

Thanks for reading, and if possible, leave a review!


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